Review: Halt's Peril - John Flanagan

Synopsis: Rangers walk the line between life and death every day, but never before has that line appeared so thin or death felt so certain. Hot on the trail of the Outsiders - a cult that's been making its way from kingdom to kingdom, conning the innocent out of their few valuables - Will and Halt are ambushed by the cult's deadly assassins. Pierced by a poisoned arrow, Will's mentor is near death and in dire need of the one antidote that can save his life. Time is not on Will's side as he journeys day and night through the harsh terrain to Grimsdell Wood in search of the one person with the power to cure Halt: Malkallam the Sorcerer.

Review: I have put off writing this review as long as I can. No, I haven't put it off because I have such dreadful things to say about it; I put it off so that I may think of what to say about it. Unfortunately, there really isn't anything in Halt's Peril to excite particular interest in a positive or negative way.

It is a good installment, and fairly suspenseful, though its ending is easy to guess. Mr. Flanagan isn't an Author who allows permanent evil to befall main characters. Like all of the books, his dialogue is funny, but movie-ish, though I must say that some of the interactions between the characters in this volume are particularly funny. I am also pleased to report that Flanagan does not try to tackle any battles, but a few minor skirmishes. He can do that, and I must admit that his avoidance of trying to write a real battle improves the books considerably.

Still, I wish he wasn't writing any more books in the Ranger's Apprentice series. Four was a perfect number; six was really pushing it. But ten?! (And I hear rumors that there is to be an 11th.) Even the best of series need to end, otherwise they become dull and slightly irksome.

Overall Rating: JJJ

Others in the Ranger's Apprentice Series:1)The Ruins of Gorlan
2)The Burning Bridge
3)The Icebound Land
4)The Battle for Skandia
5)The Sorcerer of the North
6)The Siege of Macindaw
7)Erak's Ransom
8)The Kings of Clonmel
9)Halt's Peril
10)The Emperor of Nihon-Ja
11)The Lost Stories